Yesterday, Inspy Romance’s 7th Annual Birthday Bash kicked off — one whole month of opportunities to win one of our 14 fabulous prizes!
We had our own family birthday bash a week ago. While it didn’t last a whole month like Inspy Romance, it did go on the entire weekend, and I was absolutely bushed by the time Sunday came.
In September, I blogged about my big Six-Oh. Well, here we go again because on February 5th, my husband Noel turned 60.
On my 50th and 60th birthdays, Noel went all out to make the occasions special. Although I didn’t feel obligated to do the same, and he’d insisted I don’t make a fuss of his birthday, I wanted to. I mean, sixty is a big deal — right? — and he totally deserved being spoiled. There was only one problem … we were going to be separated on the day.
Ten days before his birthday, I had to unexpectedly fly to Cape Town again to look after and homeschool my grandkids after our government closed private schools that had already opened and delayed the opening of government schools. Well, I wasn’t going to let my hubby’s 60th go by without celebrating with him. So I booked him a flight to Cape Town for a long weekend in this beautiful city. And what a weekend it was! Noel was so surprised and touched by everything we’d planned for him.
While we enjoyed a great breakfast at his favorite wine farm on Saturday and dinner that night with family, ending the festivities on Sunday morning with a little relaxation time on the beach, I’m going to focus on his actual birthday on Friday.
When Noel arrived at my son’s house on Thursday night, the dining room table was filled with an array of balloons. By the time he woke on Friday morning, the table had been transformed with birthday presents, cards from the grandkids, and a birthday cake complete with a Groot bobblehead figurine. We did need to explain the logic behind the cake topper…
The message read as: “60, now you’re groot…” For those who don’t know Groot, he’s this really cute tree character from the movie, Guardians of the Galaxy character, and all he can say is, “I am Groot.” But in Afrikaans, one of the eleven official languages in South Africa, “groot” means big/grown up. So in essence, we were telling my hubby that now that he’s 60, he’s all grown up, although sometimes when I see him mucking around with his grandsons, I have to wonder.
After Noel opened his gifts, my daughter-in-law and I prepared crepes filled with cream cheese, figs, and rocket (arugula) for breakfast, accompanied by champagne and orange juice, or a mimosa as I subsequently learned. Breakfast was enjoyed outside in the glorious Cape Town sunshine. We then proceeded to have some photobooth fun…
That evening, we had my niece, her son, and one of my son’s friends from Nigeria who has adopted Noel and I as his South African parents, over for a braai (or barbeque in most of your countries). We’d also arranged a Zoom party with other family members. My son in Finland was online, as was my niece and her husband in London (they had a cranky baby so had to leave quite soon), my husband’s brothers — one in Mali (top of Africa) and the other in Melbourne, Australia — and finally, a friend of hubby’s in Johannesburg. We chatted with everyone for hours, and even played games…
Friends and family shared stories about Noel, like this one from my daughter-in-law:
“I have so many and just couldn’t choose… from late night tea and biscuits and chats, to running after each other whipping with dishcloths, to sharing favourite foods, recipes, to amazing holidays, to late night driving around, to killing spiders with your fingers, always a shoulders to cry on. I know that no matter what I can quickly call you and you will be there as fast as you can. Even though technically I am your daughter in law, you love me like I was your own flesh and blood. Dad you are an amazing man, father, Oupa and friend to many…we are so lucky to have you in our lives!”
Or this message from our “adopted” Nigerian son: “A model man, golden example of a truly loving father. Love you, Pa.”
Or this story from his brother in Australia: “Growing up with Noel made me realise how lucky I was to have such a gentle brother 😁… I, remember when … Noel shot me with a pellet gun; Noel threw a stone at me and I ended up getting stitches in my head. We were on my grandparents farm and I cut my leg and had 6 stitches—just above my knee. Noel chased me in anger, and in order to escape, I jumped off a wall and burst the stitches open. Imagine how bad it could have been if he wasn’t such a gentle soul 😁🤣🤣🤣🤣 But to get even, Athol [other brother] and I, inspired by Evil Knievel, put Noel in a go-Cart and pushed him into a burning tunnel of thatch grass, which had been thoroughly doused in petrol. Alas, that did not end well… Love you, boet [brother] — so glad we all made it through those early years. I’m proud to call you brother.”
There were many other wonderful memories spoken about as well as acclamations of praise for the man, and father, my husband is.
The “How Well Do You Know Noel” game was interesting, and many realized that although they’ve known Noel for decades, they still had a lot to learn about him.
Finally, we played Chubby Bunny, which had us screaming with laughter and tears rolling down our cheeks. The Zoom party guests had not come prepared with marshmallows, but we had and were all able to partake in this fun party game (plus entertain those online in the process). The winner was my daughter-in-law, Amy, with a total of ten marshmallows. I gagged at six. Here’s a video of hubby playing Chubby Bunny.
Although my son in Finland didn’t have marshmallows, he did his bit for the game by running outside (minus 22 degrees Celcius) and eating a handful of snow.
I gave Noel two very unique gifts which he loved. I designed a canvas print of our family in cartoon format (the mug and t-shirt I had printed with the same design, I gave to my grandsons to give to him).
The second gift was a figurine I’d had commissioned by a polymer clay artist of a special day out we’d had about two years ago with our grandsons. The figurine arrived just before Noel’s Zoom party was about to start. Whew!
All in all, Noel’s birthday weekend was extremely memorable, and together as a family, we created moments he will treasure for the rest of his life.
But back to the Inspy Romance Birthday Bash… While Inspy Romance don’t have polymer figurines or canvas prints or fancy breakfasts or mouth-watering braais (barbeques) to give away, we do have something we know will be far more enticing to you, our readers… Five paperback bundles (USA only) including Inspy Romance tote, pen, notepad, and bookmark! Six ebook bundles! Two international paperback bundles! And finally, one grand prize comprising of paperbacks, Inspy Romance tote, pen, notepad, bookmark, Kindle Fire, handmade journal, and silver spoon bookmark. All you have to do to stand a chance of winning is to comment on any Inspy Romance blog post between February 12 and March 13, 2021. The more posts you comment on, the more chances you have of winning.
I will be giving away an e-copy of my Oklahoma Romance Writers IDA contest inspirational novel winner, A Time to Push Daisies. Like my husband, the hero in this book, Caleb Blume, is my favorite over sixty hero that I’ve ever written. Probably because I’m quite certain many of Caleb’s quality traits were inspired by my own dear, sweet hubby.
What special birthday bashes have you been fortunate to attend/arrange? Have you attended any Zoom birthday parties? We’d love to hear your stories.
USA Today bestselling author, MARION UECKERMANN’s passion for writing was sparked when she moved to Ireland with her family. Her love of travel has influenced her contemporary inspirational romances set in novel places. Marion and her husband again live in South Africa and are setting their sights on retirement when they can join their family in the beautiful Cape.
Hi Marion! Thanks for sharing your husband’s delightful 60th birthday party. Milestone parties are special, even more so doing a pandemic. I arranged a big birthday bash / retirement party when my husband turned 63. I invited friends from every aspect of his life: school, college, seminary, each church he pastored, and his years as a cooperate trainer. Those who could not attend sent cards and emails. Especially touching was a couple we helped that are missionaries in Thailand and a Vietnamese refugee we helped. My husband complained due to circumstances in our lives, we never traveled. A game I had our guests play was: Where is Michael? (After the book Where is Waldo?) I had selected photos from our travels, labeled with a number and had friends guess. A great party. Not sure what I will do for his 70th this year. Best wishes. Enjoy your weekend.
Oh, wow, Noel’s Birthday Bash sounds like such fun!! I have not done any Zoom meetings or parties, though. I don’t have a camera on my computer, which I happen to really like. I’m sure more than Noel will have wonderful memories of his 60th Birthday!!
Sounded like a wonderful birthday bash. I’ve never been to any big bash for a birthday or to a zoom birthday 🥳 party.
Thank you for sharing your family with us.
What a lovely way to celebrate Noel! My hubs planned a 40th birthday for me by taking me on a weekend to Atlanta! That was a looooong time ago, lol!
I love the cartoon family portrait! My now husband threw me a 40th birthday party before we were married and I thought that was nice of him. I have not attended any Zoom parties.
We had a special birthday for my dad and everyone was there including my sister’s family that flew in. My dad was so surprised and knew nothing about it.Happy Belated Birthday!
That sounded like a fabulous party, Renate. Thanks so much for sharing. I’m sure you will rise to the occasion this year :)
It was a great time, and it meant so much to him (even though he insisted he didn’t want me to do anything). And yes, we will ALL have fond memories of the weekend.
Zoom is pretty cool, and especially fun when you need to get a bunch of people together who are far away. You might be able to Zoom on your phone…
LOL, seems like the new normal, Lucy, to celebrate online with others. When I turned 50 and my sister turned 60, our husbands got together and did a HUGE lunch at a venue. There were a lot of people as it was both my family and my sister’s husband’s family that came.
My pleasure, Kelly :)
It was fun, Paula. Your 40th birthday in Atlanta must’ve been great (and I’m sure it wasn’t THAT long ago :) )
Thank you, Ellie. Hubby loved it too.
How wonderful, Lori. We’ve done a few special birthday celebrations for my mom and dad. I miss being able to do that now that they’re both in heaven. The best celebration we gave them was a surprise 60th wedding anniversary party … at the same place they honeymooned. They had absolutely NO clue. We dressed them up, had a bouquet and a special cake, and did a mock wedding ceremony out in the gardens. It was a memorable weekend with my siblings and their families.
Wow, that must be a great birthday! A Happy belated Birthday for him! I knew immediately what you mean by Groot. It’s the same word as we use for big/grown up here in the Netherlands. I always enjoy seeing how languages influence each other. I haven’t had a Zoom Birthday, but I’m sure that will change one day! Thank you for sharing this!
Loved your stories and pictures. Thanks for sharing.
When my mom turned 80, we made her a very nice party, we are 6 kiddos and only one of our brothers and his family were unable to attend. It was so much fun, there was a good amount of people, good food and a band playing music, she loved it. We had her favorite colors decorating the hall. That was almost 9 years ago, our mom passed away almost 2 years ago. She really enjoyed her party though. Happy belated Birthday to your hubby and how fun!! Have a Great weekend and Happy Valentines Day to you and your family. God Bless you all.
It was a great celebration weekend. Yes, the root language of Afrikaans is Dutch 😊
So glad you enjoyed it, Priscilla 😊
Happy Belated Birthday, Noel!
My daughter loves Groot too. Thanks for sharing his celebration with us!
First of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NOEL!!!! It looks like a good time was had all around (even via Zoom).
I remember when my mom turned 50, I went all out to do the black balloons (one said “Over the Hill), a cake with black frosting & a funny card about being over the hill. She loved every minute of it!! My kids were younger so it was fun to throw grandma a party.
As for my husband and I, we don’t do a lot for birthdays anymore. I bake him a chocolate cheesecake, give him a card and go out for a special dinner anywhere of his choice. One year, we took him bowling & another year mini-golfing. His sister & I share August birthdays with him, so there are years where we try to go visit her for a few days (she lives about 4 hours away) and do something for a combined birthday bash. We find some way to celebrate, even if it isn’t anything big :-)
Wow! I’m so impressed by the birthday bash that you put together for Noel. I’m not sharing this post with my husband. I don’t want to get his hopes up!
I don’t remember what birthday it was, but our small group from church was eating at a fish place. I had ordered a lemon cake from a bakery for him and had someone in the group pick it up. He had had a few bites of that bakery’s lemon cake when cake tasting for our daughter’s wedding. It wasn’t the one she chose, but he loved it. He was very surprised when the waitstaff brought out the cake and we started singing “Happy Birthday” and the live band played the song.
I really enjoyed all the birthday fun for your husband! And coming along for some South African customs.
Happiest of Birthdays! I recently went to my cousin’s drive by parade for her birthday.
The birthday celebration sounds amazing. I think you did a wonderful job getting it all together. you are both really blessed to have each other. I pray you have a wonderful wonderful month
It looks like that was an amazing celebration!
What a wonderful surprise weekend for your husband.
Happy Birthday Blessings to Noel! Love the sculpture <3
I have organized so many birthday parties….now I want one for myself LOL
My hubby turns 40 next month….need some ideas.
When I was turning 25 my friends all got together and planned a surprise party for me. It was really special for me!
Thank You for sharing Marion Love all your pictures They are amazing! And Happy Belated Birthday to Noel!
Happy birthday to him! You did a great job with the birthday bash!
The only “Zoom birthday party” I’ve attended was my church’s (xD). OK, I think it was more like its anniversary, but they suggested each family make a cake and decorate their living or dining room as if for a party if they wanted to. Most families did at least the cake, and it was fun to get to celebrate it in that way :)
No bashes sorry!
What an amazing party that was! Thank you so much for telling us all about it and sharing the beautiful pictures as well. What a special family you have and the memories you shared will be treasured by you all for your lifetime! Such a blessed day filled with love and warmth of family all around!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to him!! This year will be my Mom’s 65th & my 35th birthday (5 days apart). It looks like it was a lot of fun & very great memories to keep & look back at for sure.
still haven’t managed zoom the old computer couldn’t handle it and haven’t tried on this one. Yes back I arranged a 70th for mum at the church hall and had a couple of people from the church sing. (She loved an older song Summertime I think it was and one sang that) they also sang Great is Thy faithfulness and edelweiss. It was a fun day for her.
Then for her 80th I arranged to make a special photo album I wrote to as many people as I could think of who had known mum (Contacted her old church who put a note in their newsletter) and had people send an updated photo and if they had one of her and them younger to send it and a note with a memory of her. While I didn’t get a lot of photos from when she was younger I did get one of Dad before mum and he met and got to reconnect with my Aunt and Uncle. Even had her Football team send a card. I had all these sent to a friends place. She had no Idea and was so surprised and able to read all the letters and memories. I still have this album and love reading the notes.
My dad passed away in 2003. I still remember celebrating his 60th at my grandmothers! I got to celebrate my 60th with my mom!
I haven’t been to any zoom parties but I was able to have a post birthday Zoom game night with friends and my brother and sisterin-law back in the spring.
Happy Birthday, Noel. It sounds like you had a wonderful time. God bless you. Happy Valentine’s Day.
What a wonderful and creative birthday party!! Many happy returns, Noel!
I am glad your husband had a great birthday. We were not able to celebrate my 40th last year so we are this year for a trip to San Antonio Texas! I am super excited!
Last year for my birthday I had a zoom party. My friends are always concerned for my birthday because I am a twin and she is enjoying the presence of our LORD. This year I decided that I would have a tea party over zoom. It was nice just to enjoy tea and chat with each other. I have learned to celebrate in some way these birthdays because I am grateful to be here. My niece had a horse theme party 2018 and I rode a horse for the first time. When she turned 5, she wanted a Spiderman party. One of her mom’s friend surprised us by showing up in the Spiderman costume. She had a blast.
My husband turned 70 Jan 27th! We had a couple of restaurant meals with diifetent friennds and video calls with the kids and grandkids. Fun times!